A weekly guide to what’s happening.
ARTS AND MUSIC
BANFF CENTRE MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL VIRTUAL FESTIVAL This year, bring the adventure home! Fluff up your couch cushions, grab a snack of choice, and make sure you have a good internet connection, because the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour is going virtual! For the first time ever, travel to breathtaking destinations, embark on daring expeditions, and celebrate some of the most remarkable outdoor achievements, all from the comforts of your living room. The Covid-19 pandemic has created extraordinary circumstances around the world, and many of our live World Tour screenings have been postponed or canceled. While we can’t replicate the experience of seeing the Banff films on the big screen of your local theatre, surrounded by friends and your community, these curated programs of amazing outdoor films will inspire you to live life to the fullest, however that looks these days! Please visit riotheatre.com for more information about the online programs and how you can support your local screening.
CALL FOR COLLABORATION: MLK DAY JUSTICE JOURNAL Share your dreams and submit a page into a community journal in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. You can write and draw your responses by hand or digitally. Written responses can be of any language. Submitted pages must fit within 10 inches by 10 inches. Per submission, please include a note with your name, address, email or phone number, and selected prompt available on the event page. At the end of February, all the submissions will be compiled and pieced together. The completed journal will be displayed the week of March 1 as a close to Black History Month and continuation of a Black future. Submissions accepted through Feb. 19., Guidelines can be accessed on the event page: santacruzmah.org/events/justice-journal.
VIRTUAL PARENTING WORKSHOP (BILINGUAL): ENCOURAGING CREATIVITY WITH FAMILY ART ACTIVITIES January is Positive Parenting Awareness Month! Triple P Workshops cover practical tips and strategies for handling specific parenting questions and challenges. Attend this free virtual parenting workshop with your kids to learn how art, music, dance, performance, and other creative activities promote children’s learning, development, and well-being and participate in family art activities with local bilingual teaching artists! Presented in English and Spanish with interpretation on Zoom by Janet Dollar of Community Bridges’ Live Oak Community Resources, with Nessa Ledesma and Adrian Torres, bilingual teaching artists, in collaboration with the Arts Council Santa Cruz County. Register by Jan. 22 to get the Zoom meeting link and art materials for this virtual workshop: bit.ly/Creativity-Jan27_Creatividad-27enero. Got questions? Contact Triple P Santa Cruz at 465-2217. New to Zoom? Visit Zoom’s Help Center at support.zoom.us/hc/en-us. Los talleres de Triple P ofrecen consejos prácticos y estrategias para manejar las preguntas y desafíos de crianza específicas. Asista a este taller de crianza virtual gratis con sus hijos para aprenda cómo el arte, la música, el baile, la actuación y otras actividades creativas promueven el aprendizaje, desarrollo y bienestar de los niños. ¡Participe en actividades de arte familiares con artistas maestros bilingües locales! Presentado en español y inglés con interpretación por Zoom por: Janet Dollar, Puentes de la Comunidad – Live Oak Recursos Comunitarios, con Nessa Ledesma y Adrian Torres, artistas maestros bilingües, en colaboración con el Consejo de las Artes del Condado de Santa Cruz. Vea el volante bilingüe. Inscríbase antes del 22 de enero para conseguir el enlace de Zoom y materiales de arte parta el taller: bit.ly/Creativity-Jan27_Creatividad-27enero ¡En enero celebramos el Mes de la Crianza Positiva! Asista a clases de Triple P en enero para recibir una bolsa de regalo y su nombre también será incluido en una rifa. ¡Más clases = más oportunidades para ganar premios! Wednesday, Jan. 27, 3-4:30pm.
COMMUNITY
EIGHT-WEEK VIRTUAL PARENTING GROUP: FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN 2-12 YEARS OLD January is Positive Parenting Awareness Month! Join us for an eight-week virtual Triple P Group for families with children 2-12 years old, held Thursdays, Jan. 7 – Feb. 25. Individuals, couples, and any friends or family members who are helping raise children are welcome to attend. Participants will meet other families and learn simple strategies to help you strengthen relationships in your family, encourage positive behaviors, teach your child new skills and behaviors, handle disruptive or challenging behaviors with greater confidence, and take care of yourself as a parent. Presented in English on Zoom by Cori Burt, of Community Bridges’ Mountain Community Resources. To register, contact Cori Burt at 831-335-6600, ext. 6605, or visit bit.ly/TripleP-Group-Jan2021. Participants must register and attend the second session on Jan. 14 in order to participate in the group. If the group is already in session and you would like more information about another upcoming eight-week Triple P group, please contact First 5 at 831-465-2217. Thursday, Jan. 28, 5-6:30pm.
ASK ME ANYTHING: CONVERSATIONS FROM THE FRONT LINE OF HOMELESSNESS Join Housing Matters’ Programs Staff in their newest webinar: “Ask Me Anything: Conversations from the Front Line Of Homelessness”. This is your opportunity to hear what is going on every single day to solve homelessness and ask all the questions you have about working to solve homelessness in our community. Thursday, Jan. 28, 11am.
VOLUNTEER FOR BIG BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY January is National Mentoring Month, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County is celebrating those who are already volunteering as mentors, “Bigs,” and recruiting volunteers. Our volunteers defend, ignite and empower youth so they reach their promise and potential. Every January, the news is full of the same stories: people are trying to eat more healthfully, hit the gym more often. Since 2020 was so unique, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County is changing that story and asking: What if this year, you could resolve to do something more important, more impactful? The isolation and social distancing due to the pandemic has been difficult for all of us – especially children. Mentoring offers connection and support and can even be done virtually. In 2021, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County is asking people throughout the county to resolve to be “Big” by becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister. Santa Cruz County residents can get involved with National Mentoring Month by going to santacruzmentor.org and clicking on the “Volunteer” tab. We invite you to join our agency by becoming a virtual or in-person Big in 2021. We will be holding a Zoom Recruitment Meeting. for more information and to sign up, please contact Juan Castillo at
ju**@sa*************.org
to sign up today. Friday, Jan. 29, noon-12:30pm.
SALSA SUELTA FREE ZOOM SESSION SALSA SUELTA FREE ZOOM SESSION Keep in shape! Weekly online session in Cuban-style Salsa Suelta for experienced beginners and up. May include Mambo, ChaChaCha, Afro-Cuban Rumba, Orisha, Son Montuno. No partner required, ages 14+. Contact to get the link. salsagente.com. Thursday, Jan. 28, 7pm.
VIRTUAL PARENTING SEMINAR: RAISING CONFIDENT, COMPETENT CHILDREN January is Positive Parenting Awareness Month! This Triple P seminar for families with children ages 2-12 years old is presented in English on Zoom by Dr. Heather Thomsen, PhD. Raising Confident, Competent Children covers social and emotional skills that children need in order to thrive at home, in school and throughout life. Register to get the Zoom link for each Seminar: bit.ly/Confident-Children-Jan31. Got questions? Contact First 5 at 831-465-2217. Attend Triple P classes in January to receive a gift bag and be entered into a raffle drawing. More classes means more chances to win prizes!. Sunday, Jan. 31, 1-3pm.
VIRTUAL PARENTING WORKSHOP: FAMILY MEETINGS January is Positive Parenting Awareness Month! Triple P Workshops cover practical tips and strategies for handling specific parenting questions and challenges. Attend this free virtual parenting workshop to learn how to hold family meetings to reconnect, discuss family rules, and solve problems together and plan a meeting for your family. Presented in English with Spanish interpretation on Zoom by Sandra Rodelo, of Community Bridges – La Manzana Community Resources. Register to get the Zoom meeting link for this virtual workshop: bit.ly/Family-Meetings-Jan28. Attend Triple P classes in January to receive a gift bag and be entered into a raffle drawing. More classes means more chances to win prizes! Got questions? Contact Sandra Rodelo at 831-724-2997, ext. 211, or contact Triple P Santa Cruz at 831-465-2217. Los talleres de Triple P ofrecen consejos prácticos y estrategias para manejar las preguntas y desafíos de crianza específicas. Asista a este taller crianza virtual gratispara aprenda cómo tener reuniones familiares para reconectar, hablar sobre las reglas familiares, y resolver problemas juntos planifique una reunión para su familia. Presentado en inglés con interpretación en español por Zoom por: Sandra Rodelo, Puentes de la Comunidad – La Manzana Recursos Comunitarios. Vea el volante bilingue. Inscríbase para conseguir la información para participar en este taller por Zoom: bit.ly/Family-Meetings-Jan28 . ¡En enero celebramos el Mes de la Crianza Positiva! Asista a clases de Triple P en enero para recibir una bolsa de regalo y su nombre también será incluido en una rifa. ¡Más clases = más oportunidades para ganar premios! ¿No conoce Zoom? Visite el Centro de Ayuda de Zoom en support.zoom.us/hc/es. Thursday, Jan. 28, 6-7:30pm.
GROUPS
ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish- speaking women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets twice monthly. Registration required: Contact Entre Nosotras at 831-761-3973. Friday, Jan. 29, 6pm.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS All our OA meetings have switched to being online. Please call 831-429-7906 for meeting information. Do you have a problem with food? Drop into a free, friendly Overeaters Anonymous 12-Step meeting. All are welcome! Sunday, Jan. 31, 9:05-10:15am.
WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM Cancer support group for women with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cancer. Meets every Monday at 12:30pm via Zoom. All services are free. Registration required. Contact WomenCARE at 831-457-2273 or online at womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, Feb. 1, 12:30pm.
WOMENCARE TUESDAY SUPPORT GROUP WomenCARE Tuesday Cancer support group for women newly diagnosed and through their treatment. Meets every Tuesday at 12:30pm. via Zoom. Registration required by contacting 831-457-2273. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 12:30-2pm.
WOMENCARE: LAUGHTER YOGA Laughter yoga for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every Wednesday at 3:30 via Zoom. Registration required by contacting 831-457-2273. Wednesday, Jan. 27, 3:30-4:30pm.
OUTDOOR
COMMUNITY PERMACULTURE CALLS WINTER 2021 Practice permaculture each week at our ‘village campfire’ of ongoing interactive group calls. Hosted by experienced permaculture mentors including Santa Cruz Permaculture founder David Shaw, Lydia Neilsen of Rehydrate the Earth, and John Valenzuela of Cornucopia Food Forests. The goal of this program is to create thriving and resilient individuals and communities. We do this through supporting people to connect with nature, community, and themselves more deeply, and use permaculture as the vehicle for doing so. Each call includes a keynote talk on a relevant and seasonal topic. This is followed by a small group conversation for reflection, and a whole group conversation and Q&A. We close the calls with invitations for how you can apply what you’ve learned in your home and community. The next call begins with a check-in about how it went applying what you learned. Our curriculum is ever-evolving, changing with the seasons, and influenced by the topics people want to cover. It is dialogical and co-creative. We include and also transcend the topics covered in our permaculture design course, listed here just to get the flavor of typical topics. For example, during a 10-week cohort, we may spend two weeks on composting (home or commercial), two weeks on no-till agroecology and food forests, a week on habitat and pollinators, a week on designing disaster resilience (personal and neighborhood), a week on economics and right livelihood, and a week on policies to support ecological living. Overall, our goal is to help you and your community thrive using a community-based approach to permaculture as the means. Winter cohort topics include winter pruning, grafting, observing water, greenhouses and composting. Learn more about and register for the 10-week call series at santacruzpermaculture.com/communitypermaculture. $25 per call, $250 for the series. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 7-8:30pm.
LABSIDE CHATS: A CONVERSATION WITH A SCIENTIST, FEATURING MICHAEL BECK, PH.D. Tune in for the Seymour Center’s next Labside Chat with Michael Beck, research professor with the Institute of Marine Sciences at UCSC, on Thursday, Jan. 28, as we explore how natural habitats provide coastal resilience that reduce risks to people, property, and nature. Discover why ecosystems such as coral reefs, coastal wetlands, and mangroves may help to reduce flooding and dissipate strong storm events. Join the conversation! Submit your questions in advance for Mike, then watch the conversation to hear the answers during the live chat. Help us put together questions such as: Why are coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs or wetlands considered important barriers against strong storm surges? How is economic value assigned to natural ecosystems? Is climate change or other human disturbances to coral reefs or wetlands causing a decline in how effective they are as natural storm barriers? How are policymakers and stakeholders using information learned from this research to make decisions? Visit the Seymour Center’s website to submit your questions and to watch the live conversation: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/ongoing-education/labside-chats. Thursday, Jan. 28, 11-11:30am.